David Beckham was crowned the wealthiest player in 2013, but a number of high-profile names will be keen to take the Englishman’s place

Although 2014 is only two months underway, the first few weeks of the new year have once more underlined the importance of money in the life of a professional footballer.

At the start of the 2013-14 campaign, Wayne Rooney was keen to leave Manchester United – and not for the first time in his career – yet hardly six months later the England international is loving life at Old Trafford again after signing a new big-money deal earlier in February.

Elsewhere, Toni Kroos is unhappy at Bayern Munich following the Bundesliga champions’ refusal to meet his wage demands and talks over a new deal have been put on hold for now, even if the midfielder seemed destined to stay at FCB for many years to come after their historic treble-win last season.

In Spain, meanwhile, Barcelona vice-president Javier Faus continues to stress that the Blaugrana are ready to open contract talks with Lionel Messi and make him the best-paid player in La Liga again, a moniker he lost to Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2013 following the Portuguese attacker’s new and improved deal at Real Madrid.

Who is the wealthiest player across the globe, though? Is it one of the aforementioned superstars or does a slightly more surprising name top the Goal Rich List?

Last year, former England international David Beckham topped the Goal Rich List, ahead of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Ronaldinho.

Want to know who tops the list this year? The wait is nearly over!

The latest edition is scheduled to come out on March 10 and there will be plenty of exciting content to go with it. So keep an eye on Goal in the weeks to come for all the ins and outs of each star’s financial situation!